The Nairobi work programme team at the UNFCCC secretariat invites you to contribute to the secretariat’s data compilation effort on the use of local, indigenous and traditional knowledge and practices for adaptation.

At its forty-first session, the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) requested the secretariat under the guidance of the Chair of the SBSTA, in collaboration with the Adaptation Committee and the Least Developed Countries Expert Group, and with contributions from relevant Nairobi work programme partner organizations, to make publicly available a compilation of good practices and tools and available data collection initiatives for the use of local, indigenous and traditional knowledge and practices for adaptation, for consideration at SBSTA 44.

In light of this call for contributions on the part of Nairobi work programme partner organizations, we welcome all information you would like to share with the secretariat regarding good practices, tools and data collection initiatives referring to the use of local, indigenous and traditional knowledge and practices for adaptation. If possible it is requested that information be submitted both in English and in Spanish or French so as to allow for broader outreach and dissemination of knowledge. Read More...

OOSKAnews Voices is a new series of guest “opinion columns” on water, written by senior participants in different parts of the international water community. The columns provide a global platform for organizations and individuals to promulgate their views and messages. In this piece John H. Matthews, co-founder and secretariat coordinator for AGWA, takes a look at the philosophical gap between an older generation of professionals skeptical of new approaches related to climate adaptation and a younger generation unsure of how to address what they consider to be one of the most pressing issues of their time.

"The adaptation skeptics may in fact be crippling the lost generation, creating bigger hurdles for those of interested in sustaining water resources over many decades and centuries..." Read More...

In the context of the work under the UNFCCC Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage associated with Climate Change Impacts, the Executive Committee of the Mechanism initiated a stocktake of organizations working on slow onset events (e.g. sea level rise, increasing temperatures, ocean acidification, glacial retreat and related impacts, salinization, land and forest degradation, loss of biodiversity and desertification) and the scope of their current efforts. The results from the initial stocktake are compiled into an online database. Read More...

The US White House hosted a Water Summit as part of the UN's World Water Day. The event was designed to raise awareness of water issues and potential solutions in the United States, and to catalyze ideas and actions to help build a sustainable and secure water future through innovative science and technology.

On March 22, 2016, in conjunction with the United Nations World Water Day, the Obama Administration will host a White House Water Summit to raise awareness of water issues and potential solutions in the United States, and to catalyze ideas and actions to help build a sustainable and secure water future through innovative science and technology. AGWA has been invited to participate in the event, which will feature panel discussions and invited speakers from the public and private sectors, as well as a fact sheet of commitments made by numerous organizations in the water community and by the Obama Administration.

The event is set to take place from 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. EDT. It will be livestreamed on www.whitehouse.gov/live, and we invite you to participate on social media using the hashtag #WHWaterSummit and AGWA's @Alliance4Water. Read More...

Still unsure if you are interested in AGWA's upcoming graduate level professional development course? Oregon State University's NRLA has come up with a great video overview for the class. It's definitely worth two minutes of your time to take a look!

Interested in earning graduate level credit while expanding your knowledge on climate adaptation? You can do so through the Natural Resources Leadership Academy. They are hosting a free webinar on Tuesday, March 15 at 12-1 pm (UTC -7) for those wanting to find out more. Register here to attend.

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Oregon State University's Natural Resources Leadership Academy (NRLA) brings together professionals and graduate students from across the world to establish connections, enhance leadership skills and learn from experts on timely, relevant topics in today's changing world.

The NRLA is a one-stop-shop for participants to enhance their leadership skills through hands-on experience in engaging coursework and field trips, preparing them to solve complicated natural resources issues. Participants receive continuing education credits for their profession or receive graduate credits in an accelerated one-week format.

This year AGWA will be teaching a course on Resilient and Robust Resource Management. The course will run 20-24 June and registration is now open.

Knowledge around climate adaptation is inherently interdisciplinary, and we will draw from scientific, engineering, economic and finance, and governance and legal viewpoints about topics such as assessing vulnerability, defining performance indicators and developing adaptation plans. The course will draw from an international set of expertise. Emphasis will be given to those aspects of climate adaptation most important to practitioners and professionals.

OOSKAnews Voices is a new series of guest “opinion columns” on water, written by senior participants in different parts of the international water community. The columns provide a global platform for organizations and individuals to promulgate their views and messages. In this piece John H. Matthews, co-founder and secretariat coordinator for AGWA, takes a look at the controversy over how "green" hydrolectric power really is.

"Perhaps more than any other water-related topic, hydropower represents some of the most extreme risks and opportunities associated with climate change policy and practice..." Read More...

The latest issue of AGWA's monthly newsletter is now available! We cover a number of updates about AGWA's activities and initiatives. This issue is full of the latest water and climate news, as well as a series of infrastructure, policy, & investment articles. You'll also find a listing of recent publications and funding opportunities that you've come to expect in AGWA Updates. Enjoy! Read More...

As a way of carrying out AGWA's vision of mainstreaming effective climate change adaptation practices, we have begun offering graduate level courses in sustainable resource management and climate adaptation. These courses, available beginning April 2016, are being offered on two different campuses -- UNESCO-IHE and Oregon State University. Registration is now open for both. The courses are designed for students in water-related disciplines as well as water professionals seeking to develop their climate adaptation experience.

AGWA is starting with these two initial courses with the goal of expanding into a more standard AGAW-U format that can be used at other universities across the globe. Visit the new "AGWA-U" website to find out more about each course, including details on dates, registration, and content. Read More...